Crazy critter week

Very, very busy week with the critters here, starting on Monday with first baby Silkie chicks that had to come out into the brooder tub because the two black dragons were so deep into nest setting mode they pecked at anything moving too close to their nest ... including the newly hatched chicks.  Then Monday afternoon, hubby called to me to come outside and identify something ... "Baby bunnies!"  Except only one of the three was still alive.  I hadn't put the nest box in because Brooke gave no hint of impending labor or delivery.

We've had some heavy downpours this week (though no flooding, thankfully) and the first really heavy wall-of-water rain flooded the brooder tub.  Hubby just happened to hear baby chicks cheeping, and went out and saved three of the four in the tub, which he moved into his workshop until last night.

The squirmy little bunny kit started off a bit chilled, then I held Brooke on her back, cradled in my arm like a babe, so the kit could nurse.  The kit kept going from teat to teat, and I could hear it sucking vigorously, but it would take 20-30 minutes before I could see the milk belly.  Brooke wasn't making much milk.  We also caught her using the nest box as a litterbox, so I pulled the nest box out and set it in the brooder tub so baby bunny would stay warm and dry.  When I got home Thursday afternoon from Tractor Supply to pick up some feed and kitten bottles, the kit was lethargic, barely responsive, and looked emaciated ... so I called up Lynn, who used to breed and raise a LOT of meat rabbits.  She told me Brooke sounded like the textbook problem "newbie" mother, and that she usually figured her first timers would have small litters and then lose them all through clumsiness or benign neglect.  I found the kit cold, stiff, and dead the next morning.  Lynn says I can breed Brooke back two weeks after the kits were born, and she ought to do better with the next litter.  If she doesn't, Lynn recommends "into the frying pan with her!"

I sold Harry Houdini and Cocoa to my friends Caroline and Frank yesterday, then today I drove to the other side of Gainesville (good grief, there are a lot of goat people on that side of Gainesville!) to pick a new Nigerian Dwarf doe/nanny, who is registered and looks to be a great compliment to Brownie if I feel inclined to sell registered kids.  The option is there.  Here she is, Honey Road FRP Tangie, or just Tangie for short.

Honey Road FRP Tangie, Nigerian Dwarf doe

Ain't she purty?  She's technically oversized, as in too tall and would be disqualified from the show ring, but I didn't buy her to show.  While she hasn't been milked this year, the lady said she did milk her last year and Tangie produced quite decently with tolerably good milk stand manners (especially when grain is involved).  She's two years old, a couple months younger than Chocolate, and kidded twice now - single birth both times - with this year's kid born four weeks ago.  The lady said she wanted to finish this year's kids on the bottle, as that makes them a lot more people-friendly.

So, two kids leave here, and one nanny sans kid arrives ... and all that milk will be MINE!  Mine to make all sorts of cheese with, and still have plenty to keep us in caramel coffee creamer and me in yogurt.  Now all I need is a decent cheese press, so I can make colby, cheddar, brick, swiss, and whatnot.

Oh, almost forgot to mention sending out guinea eggs - 45 to Lynn (who also has my incubator to hatch them with, along with her whites) and then 15 went home with Frank and the kids, but he probably won't let the kids have anything to do with them.  LOL

Just think - this is the short version, and doesn't cover planting.  It's been quite the busy week.

Whole lot of busy

Today is one of those days I realize just how many different things I have going on here.  I've been working with Chocolate on the milking idea, and as long as she has Goat Chow in the feeder, she could not care less.  The instant she's done inhaling her Chow though, she tries to get away.  Hubby has been holding her for my to milk, except this morning he is up in Jacksonville because his brother just got back from a rotation to Korea.  I tried to get Lynn out here to hold her, but business is picking up fast at the commercial nursery she owns/runs so no dice there.  As a result, I only got about two ounces this morning, whereas I got over six ounces yesterday morning, and the difference is someone holding her.  A milking stand is en route here from Pennsylvania, but FedEx tracking says it won't be here until Wednesday.

Also in transit are: a meat grinder, patty mold, and bell hog scraper to get the hair off the pigs' skins after slaughter; hoof trimmers, hoof knife, goat halter, and a lamb/kid bottle in case I need that for my next goat; and two cheese making kits plus another cheese making book so next year when I have three in milk, I will be able to make cheese from the excess.  One Nigerian Dwarf doe can give up to a quart a day even with kids on her, depending on how good a milking bloodline she's from.  That is enough for hubby and me, but Cocoa will grow up, as will the registered doeling I am on the hunt for, so for a couple years I will be having three kidding and milking, so cheese making has been on my to-learn list for a couple years.

The guineas are finally acting like proper guineas: they are flying or hopping out of the enclosure and moving off in a gaggle to hunt for bugs.  May they find every tick nest not just on our property, but the neighboring properties as well!  I find it amusing they just started doing this the day after Craig, Marty, and me were discussing how to cook guinea.

On the chicken front, more hens are getting into the spring mood and starting to camp out on eggs or golf balls ... including one of the Big Butt Girls, the black phase BLR Wyandottes I got from Luanne.  Luanne has now had a grand total of two Wyandotte hens go broody on her over the years (one last year, just to prove her wrong when she told me they don't go broody) so having one out of only three in the back of the tractor all fluffed up and growling was a surprise.  Kids and critters will make a liar out of you every time.  Having another Silkie go broody wasn't much of a surprise, but having it be one of the black dragons still tending Silkie chicks was.  Let the daily battle over marked versus unmarked eggs begin.

Hammy and Pork Chop continue to grow and eat like pigs should.  I have decided not to keep either one, and instead go hunting for a pair or trio of full blooded Pot Belly pigs for my pork project.  Hammy will go first, as he is the smaller one and not putting on fat to the extent Pork Chop is.  Pork Chop has the fat jowls and wrinkles around the shoulders that Potbellies are known for, so I am curious to see just how big and fat he'll get.  I even had to buy the second bag of pig food for those two last week, making my total investment still less than $35 for pigs plus feed.

I was going to including planting notes and greenhouse update, but wow this has gotten quite long with only part of the critter update.  Oh, no pics this morning, as I set my camera down somewhere and don't recall where.

Bigfoot and a baked Silkie

I caught Bigfoot just a short bit ago, then held him until hubby reached a break point on the Silkiebator tractor he's working on to take a few pictures.

Bigfoot, the one grow-out cockerel from the October hatch

Bigfoot isn't sure if he liked his throat stroked
He certainly has lovely hackle feathers!

Bigfoot staring down the camera
(I am holding him by his hocks)

Bigfoot's wingspan - he still has a lot of growing to do!

Bigfoot still has big feet and long legs to grow into ... and a nice wide wingspan.  He flapped a bit while I was posing him, and left his one wing spread out, so all I did was extend the other.  I am still quite pleased with how he's growing out - especially considering he's from my first F1 hatch.  He seems to be setting the standard pretty high.

Quick note on the January hatch - the best cockerel has a single comb, so I will not be growing any intact cockerels from that hatch.  That gives me more caponizing practice.

Finally, we ate our first Silkie cockerel recently.  I had a couple of oranges from my friend Lynn's trees, and an idea to make a nice exotic spiced baked chicken using orange juice, ground cinnamon, ground clove, and just a touch of cayenne.  Exotic-looking chicken, exotic spices for it.  I am so doing a Silkie for Halloween, with green food coloring in the rice and acorn squash.

orange spice baked Silkie

The Silkie cockerel was quite small, which is why he ended up on our table.  The amusing part is, when he had his feathers he looked about the same size as BeeCee.  It was when I picked them both up the size difference was apparent.   Plucked, cleaned, and without giblets the Silkie only weighed one pound, ten ounces.

We also ate one of the guineas, cut up and done teriyaki with fresh mushrooms, carrots, and garlic.  Not bad, a touch richer in flavor than even the Silkie, but the guinea only weighed one pound, fourteen ounces under all those feathers.

I had also slaughtered a cockerel from Bigfoot's batch, and he weighed two pounds, 15 ounces (just shy of 3 lbs!) which is quite a decent size for the age ... especially considering that slip from last year only weighed about four pounds even.  He was the smallest slip, and I should have just slaughtered him instead of trying to grow him out more.  Ah well.

Some pics of the guineas

As y'all may recall, I sold three guineas earlier this month, so we are down to twelve - five pearls and seven lavenders.  Hubby had the camera the other day, and got some nice pics of the constantly-moving monsters.

guineas' funny faces

guineas waiting at the fence for food

a pearl guinea posing

The guineas have the amusing habit of suddenly making a bunch of noise as they sprint around the enclosure.  Sometimes one or a couple will fly, and end up on the outside of the enclosure and then be unable to figure out how to get back in.  Then the whole bunch will run another lap, with the ones on the outside bouncing against the netting and sometimes the ones on the inside bouncing against the netting.  I guess they are lucky we don't have the fence turned on during the day!  We've been letting them out between morning and afternoon feeding times, and they seem to appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs and wings daily.  They are also a little less annoying with the noise when they get their exercise time.

I'll still be glad when hubby gets the goat shed/guinea pen/rabbit cabinet area built in the back.

Condemning seeds, aka planting

Yesterday, I decided to condemn some more seeds to being buried (hopefully!) alive.  I planted some beets and parsnips in the garden box where the chard used to be, until we buried it with a bed-load of compost from Lynn.  We cannot keep up on making enough compost here on property, so until I decide we have enough planting beds, we'll just supplement via Lynn's nursery.  She even has a couple Bobcats to turn the stuff easily (and load it into the truck).

Funny thing: I saw movement out the corner of my eye while planting, so looked up and there were ten of the twelve guineas, having hopped the perimeter and strolling over to see if I was doing anything interesting.  I was quick to brush dirt over the seeds, so my rows probably won't look very straight when they come up.

I have another bucket load of compost in the back of the pickup again today, and we are also waiting on lumber delivery this afternoon.  I had hubby make me a list, and went into town yesterday to pay and arrange delivery.  With 30 2x4s plus some 3/8" plywood and a couple 1x6s, he should have plenty of wood to build me broody/nesting bases for most of the tractors, plus a rabbit cabinet to get the bunnies' cage up off the two pieces of scrap 2x4 it is currently sitting on.  He used up the last 2x12s to make the current box awaiting fill dirt, which I think I may just fill up with carrot seeds.

Since my gardening attempts have had only limited success so far, I have decided this year I will plant by the signs ... yes, of the zodiac.  The feed mill up in Lake Butler was handing out calendars that have that info on them, along with sunrise/set times, moon rise/set times, phases of the moon, and notes for which days are favorable for not only planting, but working with livestock, including specific days to set eggs.  If conventional methods aren't working as well as desired by themselves, then it time to augment with a little magick.

I cut down one broccoli plant that had not given us even a little sprig yet, and cut it into three parts for bunny treats.

Final note: hubby ordered a computer thingy to fix my picture issue, so I ought to be able to do pics again by next week.

Sold some birds

Saturday morning was the farm swap in the Tractor Supply parking lot.  While I didn't get the Wyandotte pullets weighed and sorted for it, I did grab up two red broiler hens and three guineas: the white one and both pieds.  These three were having trouble fitting into the flock with the majority being either pearl or lavender, and I also knew the white and one of the pieds for certain were female.  The couple who bought them had two guineas of three at home, and when I explained how to tell the cocks from the hens, the wife said she is now pretty sure both those guineas are male, so they certainly needed a couple hens.  They made no attempt to haggle on the price of $15 per fancy guinea, unlike another fellow who came up after they went inside to get cash back and purchase some bolts.

Lynn came up with me, and that ended up being a very good thing as she watched the tailgate while I ran in to the bathroom a couple times.  Coffee works, ya know.

I sold the two broiler hens to a family that has a young blonde-haired girl, about 4 or 5 years old, who I could instantly tell loves animals as much as I do.  I had no real quibble when the father asked about a "two-for" price on them, and let them go for $20 for the pair.  I also remarked to the parents that girl will grow up to be just like me, and should always be somewhere where she can have her own little zoo.  They simply chuckled and agreed with my assessment.

I took up six dozen eggs, and sold three of them.  Overall, it was not a bad sale, although there were quite a few temptations on the rabbit front.  I did buy another set of cages: a quad, two over two, and the perfect size for the mini-Rexes.  The lady selling the cage said that is exactly what she had in it when she was using it.  Another lady had lovely pedigreed American Blue rabbits, a doe and her eleven kits.  All the Blues were hand-raised and thought nothing of being petted or picked up, and while they were indeed a lovely shade of blue-grey, they had normal fur and my heart is set on Rex fur.  Lynn asked me, "What's wrong with their fur?  They are nice and soft!"  I had to explain, "These fingers have touched Rex fur, and there is just no going back."  That got me an eye roll from Lynn, while the lady selling them nodded and smiled as if she understood.  Lynn had to really work hard to resist buying some of those rabbits, and claimed I "almost" got her in trouble, even though I told her I was about to go rescue her until I saw her walk away empty-armed.

Lisa (the lady who will sell me the dairy goat in the spring) was all excited to come over to my truck to look into the carriers, as she remembered I mentioned I intended to bring the cull Wyandotte pullets.  I think she was rather disappointed, but Friday we went up to Jacksonville and spent a few hours with hubby's nephew who is almost four years old, and was so bouncing off the walls with excitement because hubby is his favorite uncle.  We were just too worn out to weigh and sort the pullets, and I do need to weigh and sort them before hauling any to be sold, as I suspect there are three cockerels hiding out in that bunch along with my suspicion there are two pullets in with the cockerels.  If I don't have them sorted by the third Saturday for the livestock auction, then I will certainly have them ready for next month's farm swap.

Chicken thoughts and updates

I have some pictures that may actually be in focus, but the thingy that I plug the memory card into to plug into the computer has finally given up the ghost.  Hubby says his dad sent it to him when he did the Korea rotation, and that was back in 2007, so I suppose we got our money's worth out it.  Now to find a replacement ...

The incubator was full-up by Sunday afternoon, so I went ahead and set it on the 20th instead of the 22nd (solstice).  If this batch follows the same timeline as the previous one (even though I lowered the set temp another half degree because they were still hatching a bit too early) ... then I will have the first chicks hatching on my birthday, January 9th!  I tried for birthday chicks last year, but they had to bump my order back to my brother's birthday due to a poor hatch rate.  It happens.  I have fifteen Silkie eggs and 27 gold-laced Wyandotte eggs from Azar and the Pretties.

I now have three Silkie pullets out there setting nests.  The first one has five Silkie eggs under her, set on Sunday also.  The second had three Wyandotte eggs under her from Tiny and the Flashy Girls, but she kicked two of them out - twice.  So she has one Wyandotte egg under her, and will get some Silkie chicks from the incubator when they hatch.  The third, a black pullet I got at the auction a few months ago, just decided to set yesterday, so I am only letting her have golf balls until the eggs in the incubator hatch, at which point she'll have Silkie chicks also.  I'll start Pollux out with eight of the Wyandotte chicks, and see if he can nanny more than that or not.

From the October hatch of GLWs (Tiny x Flashy Girls), I will only grow out one cockerel, nicknamed Bigfoot, and caponize the rest.  I have more pullets than I originally thought, and at least two are in the current cockerel tractor (supervised by Pollux) because they have large feet and shanks and I mistook them for boys a few weeks ago.  I also suspect there are two effeminate cockerels hiding in the pullet tractor - I'll know for certain when I try to caponize them.

We will be eating one of the pied guineas, as the rest of the flock has rejected it.  This is the one I had to separate out last month due to an open sore pecked on its wing and back.  We had all the guineas out to see if the pieds could mingle back into the flock, and this one was chased away by whichever guinea was closest.

Rambling update 11 November

OK, so it's been nearly a month since I posted.  Whole lot of shtuff going on, just not typing away here on the blog.

• Dad and Tammy visited right before the chicks hatched, and both thought the house and property and chickens were cool.  Tammy got a picture of every bird on the property!  LOL  Dad kept cocking his head and looking at the Silkies, commenting they look furry.  Tammy's best comment was about the Wyandottes, saying: "I always thought chickens were just ... chickens.  I never realized some could be so pretty!"  When the slips were let out, even more entertainment and comparisons to Jurassic Park.
• Hubby's grandmother died right before Halloween.  She had been bouncing between the hospital and the rehab wing of a nursing home for a little over a week.  The funeral was last week Thursday.  She'll be missed, and remembered fondly here, as she was our #1 fan of our chickens.  Not just watching them, she said our meat birds were the best she'd ever tasted.
• I finally saw a couple sprouts from all those seeds I planted last month - but only marigolds.  Everything else in the garden boxes are transplanted starts.
• A majority of those transplants are doing good!  The broccoli is going great guns, and the Greek oregano start I planted last spring is running riot and now takes up almost a sixth of the box it's in.  I found some curled parsley and fernleaf dill starts, and those are settling in nicely, although the three different varieties of basil are trying to stay alive.  One Swiss chard start from the spring is not only still alive, but thriving.  A nice big leaf that broke off last week made some tasty omelettes.  Most of the spinach starts are making an honest effort, despite insect damage that also hit the green sweet basil pretty hard.  The purple and spicy globe basil plants are untouched so far (knock on wood!).
• It is official: I am hosting Thanksgiving this year.  Just the in-laws, as brother-in-law is over in Korea, his wife and their two sons are down with her family, and Grandma will not be dining.  Since Uno the GLW full capon is not inclined to nanny chicks, he'll be the bird of honor for the meal.  I'll even be sure to serve him on the china platter I picked up last year at Pomona Park's "Everyone's Having a Yard Sale" weekend (which I skipped this year).
• We planned to move Uno to the isolation crate, but that was quickly changed when I saw one of the pied guineas getting pecked.  Neither of us know what started it, but the poor thing has lost feathers on its back and right wing.  I tried putting Blu-Kote on it, but then the little stinker got loose and we both had to chase it into the iso crate, so I'll try again after dark.
• We have a nice cool spell, and all I can think is, "Man if I still had my good pain pill, I could get SO MUCH done!"  As it is, VA took them from nearly everyone, and it's a high bar to get them back, so I'll just have to be content with what I can do without it.
• Two cockerels slaughtered this morning, another two tomorrow morning, then the last two from Luanne hopefully Friday, leaving Nipper and Brother, Feyd's test-breeding sons - for the weekend.  I need grow-out space now.
• Did the 4-week weigh-in for the Wyandotte chicks.  One pullet is lagging that far behind, and either had an injury or a neurological defect, and so needs to be culled.  I need to crunch numbers and play with basic statistical functions, not only because it is the geek thing to do, but because I would like to establish a baseline norm and also a cutoff point at four week intervals so I can compare among different batches of chicks.

For the upcoming rainy days, I have canning and baking planned.  Here's hoping.

Guinea keet pic

I took the digicam out with me last evening to try to get some pics of the guinea keets.  They stayed in a tight group, but milled around enough within the small space to give the auto-focus fits.  Out of four pics, this is the one that is focused enough to see.

guinea keets venturing out of the pen

We just started letting them out of the pen after "chicken time" evening feeding, and they put themselves back in the pen as it starts to get dark.  They aren't quite in full-blown ugly stage yet, but they are very close to it as they are starting to lose keet feathers on the head and neck.  Hubby and I will need to watch The Dark Crystal again to get inspiration for some names.

An amusing anecdote: While I was out there last evening, I sneezed and immediately every keet ran into the pen and to the farthest corner from me.  Then, once they were "safe" from the noise, they started up the alarmed-guinea noise.

For the record, the keets are not really louder than the chickens, per se, but the alarmed-guinea noise is very attention-grabbing and just about impossible to ignore, unlike the hen bragging or crow-a-thons the cockerels and rooster do.

Guinea keets update and pics

So, the guinea keets are feathered enough to no longer need the heat lamp.  They aren't quite to the ugly adolescent stage, but they are close.  I decided to snap a couple pics because at nightfall this evening, I will go out and catch the eight whites and two remaining pieds ... assuming there has not been an unobserved escape.  Two of the white guineas have wriggled out under the frame after digging around.  The first escaped the other afternoon when Lynn was here visiting, and flew up onto the roof even.  The second made its jailbreak this afternoon, but was afraid of Little Girl, the "runt" of the black phase blue laced Wyandottes from Luanne ... even being the runt Wyandotte, she is still the biggest bird in her tractor.  So, hubby and I managed to catch today's escapee, without help from Little Girl or Flaca.

assorted guinea keets

assorted guinea keets

I'll try to give Lynn a call right before I go out to catch the guineas for her, but I suspect she'll already be on the road.  Her husband finished up the pen this afternoon, and was wanting to come pick them up the moment he finished.  He is really hoping these guineas eat every tick on his property.  According to Lynn, ticks really tear him up each year - I know they certainly love to feast on hubby and me both.

Keets!

This video is a few weeks old now. 

For those that don't know a Keet is a 'baby" Guinea.

The order was for 25 and we've lost two. 

They will be getting a tractor of some kind very soon.

Thanks for reading!

Guinea keets arrive

They are here, and they are so tiny!  They are also absolutely cute ... quick pic.

25 assorted guinea keets
newly hatched and just arrived

They hatched Tuesday afternoon or early evening, and were shipped out by evening.  Those are marbles in the waterer tray, as the keets are quite clumsy even for newly-hatched birds and could fall in trying to drink and drown.  I fished three out of the waterer tray in the first few minutes.  Hubby put poultry Nutri-Drench in the water instead of sugar at my suggestion ... looks like my instincts were good because I don't think all of them have figured out the food dish just yet.

They need the heat lamp, and after cupping my hands over a second one that was shivering badly, I had the idea of putting in a hot water bottle.  When I went out to check them just now, two were trying to sleep on their feet with their chins on the water bottle (which is actually a metal drink container that does a terrible job of holding its temperature ... which makes it ideal for this!).  As I watched, both slid sideways off the bottle together, like two drunk friends that can't hold each other up.

More to come, as hubby just went outside with the camera that does better video than stills.

Getting guinea keets

I have shown hubby guineas at the farm swap down in Barberville, and also at the county fair, so he has been aware that not only do I want them, but they can be noisy and are really strange-looking.  Yesterday, I received an email from Ideal Poultry announcing an overhatch special on their guinea keets this week.  The price was tempting enough for me to mention it this afternoon after lunch ... and hubby said, "Go ahead and order them."  I just got off the phone from making said order, which will ship tomorrow and be at the post office either Thursday or Friday.  I am getting the hatchery assortment, which could be any combination of four varieties.

assorted guinea varieties from
Ideal Poultry

It's taken two and a half years, but I am finally getting my loud watch-birds ... and hopefully around spring I'll be roasting my first guinea.  I have recipes, but no practical place to get them.  Oh, they are reputed to be every bit as good as wild turkeys when it comes to eating ticks, too!  The ticks were bad this past spring, to the point we couldn't even hang laundry without having them crawling up our legs.